GAP WAVEGUIDE ANTENNA STRUCTURE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
This application provides a gap waveguide antenna structure and an electronic device, and relates to the field of communication radars. The antenna structure includes a top layer, a gap waveguide structure, a microstrip structure, and a bottom layer. The top layer is parallel to the bottom layer. A first metal layer and a second metal layer are laid on two sides of a dielectric layer of the top layer, and the microstrip structure is disposed on the second metal layer. A frame of the microstrip structure is separated from metal of the second metal layer by leaving a space. The foregoing special antenna structure can reduce a transmission loss, improve a coupling capability, and effectively improve transmission efficiency of energy or an electromagnetic wave.
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/105549, filed on Jul. 29, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis application relates to the field of communication radars, and more specifically, to a gap waveguide antenna structure and an electronic device.
BACKGROUNDAs high-frequency technologies and millimeter-wave technologies continuously develop, low-loss planar antennas have been well applied. A conventional waveguide slot antenna is a good choice for high-frequency applications. However, generally, a feeding network of a waveguide slot antenna is very complicated, and it is very difficult to ensure processing precision of the waveguide slot antenna. However, compared with the conventional waveguide slot antenna, difficulty of processing and assembly of a gap waveguide structure is greatly reduced, thereby facilitating application of waveguide slot antennas in the millimeter-wave field.
On a millimeter-wave band, a design of integrating an antenna and a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)—based active radio frequency circuit is also critical. For a gap waveguide slot antenna, favorable energy transmission between a microstrip and a gap waveguide is a key factor of an overall design. A design of such a transmission structure requires very good impedance matching and a very good integration design. Generally, feeding modes of the transmission structure may include coupling feeding and direct contact feeding.
In a common gap waveguide slot antenna structure, energy is transmitted between a microstrip and a gap waveguide in a coupling feeding mode. The microstrip is directly laid on an upper surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), and is coupled to the gap waveguide. However, because one PCB dielectric layer exists between a top layer of the gap waveguide and a periodic pin structure, the PCB dielectric layer causes great energy losses during energy transmission, thereby reducing energy transmission efficiency.
Therefore, how to increase energy transmission efficiency is a problem to be urgently resolved.
SUMMARYThis application provides a gap waveguide antenna structure and an electronic device, to effectively increase energy transmission efficiency.
According to a first aspect, a gap waveguide structure is provided. The gap waveguide structure includes: a top layer, a gap waveguide structure, a microstrip structure, and a bottom layer. The top layer is parallel to the bottom layer. The top layer includes a first metal layer, a dielectric layer, and a second metal layer. The first metal layer is laid on a first side of the dielectric layer, and the second metal layer is laid on a second side of the dielectric layer. The gap waveguide structure includes a periodic pin structure and a ridge structure, the periodic pin structure and the ridge structure are disposed on a side of the bottom layer close to the top layer, a slot is formed between the periodic pin structure and the second metal layer, and a slot is formed between the ridge structure and the second metal layer. The periodic pin structure includes a plurality of pins, and the plurality of pins are periodically arranged on two sides of the ridge structure. The microstrip structure is disposed in the second metal layer, and the microstrip structure is parallel to the ridge structure. A frame of the microstrip structure is separated from metal of the second metal layer by leaving a space.
In the technical solution of this application, the metal layers are mainly both laid on the two sides of the dielectric layer (for example, a PCB dielectric layer), thereby effectively reducing losses of energy and an electromagnetic wave during transmission, specifically, reducing energy losses of the energy and the electromagnetic wave in a process of passing through the dielectric layer. In addition, in this case, there may be plenty of space, so that a component is disposed on the metal layer (to be specific, the foregoing second metal layer) on a lower surface (the second side) of the dielectric, and the gap waveguide antenna structure can be integrated with another component or another functional module, in other words, integrability gets improved, thereby facilitating use of the antenna structure in various practical scenarios, and expanding an application range of the antenna structure.
It should be noted that the foregoing antenna structure can allow another component or another module to be integrated in the gap waveguide structure. Reasons are as follows: The second metal layer may act as a top metal layer of the gap waveguide structure, so that a width threshold of a slot between an upper surface of a pin and the top metal layer is increased, and a width threshold of a slot between an upper surface of the ridge structure and the top metal layer is increased. In addition, in this case, the metal layer (the second metal layer) is laid on the lower surface (the second side) of the dielectric layer, so that the component can be disposed on the second metal layer (the width threshold of the foregoing slot can allow the component to be disposed on the metal layer without affecting performance of the gap waveguide structure). For example, a component such as a capacitor, an inductor, or a resistor may be disposed on the second metal layer. For another example, an integrated module such as a chip or an integrated circuit may be disposed on the second metal layer. Details are no longer described one by one.
For example, it is assumed that an original gap range threshold is required to be A millimeters (mm), and A is a positive real number. In other words, a width of a slot between the top metal layer and the periodic pin structure cannot exceed A mm. However, in a conventional technology, at least a thickness of the PCB dielectric layer needs to be deducted from the slot threshold A mm. That is, assuming that the thickness of the PCB dielectric layer is B mm, and B is a positive real number less than A, in the conventional technology, a width of a slot between a lower surface (equivalent to the second side of the dielectric layer in this embodiment of this application) of the PCB dielectric layer and the periodic pin structure cannot exceed at least (A-B) mm. However, in this application, there is no impact of the PCB dielectric layer, and the width of the slot between the second side of the dielectric layer and the periodic pin structure only needs to not exceed A mm.
It should be further noted that, because a wavelength of an electromagnetic wave in a PCB dielectric is shorter than that in the air, in practice, in the conventional technology, a maximum value of the width of the slot between the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer and the periodic pin structure further needs to be less than a value of A-B.
Optionally, when the dielectric layer in the gap waveguide antenna structure is the PCB dielectric layer, the first metal layer may be the ground of a PCB.
Optionally, the second metal layer may act as the top metal layer of the gap waveguide structure.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, there is no limitation on a shape, a height, a width, or other dimensions of the pin. For example, the pin may be a cuboid or another shape, for example, a cylinder.
It should be further noted that, in this embodiment of this application, there is also no limitation on a shape or a dimension of the microstrip structure, as long as the microstrip structure can be coupled to a gap waveguide and a coupling requirement can be met.
With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the microstrip structure may include a microstrip and a microstrip patch, the microstrip is connected to the microstrip patch, the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave, and the microstrip is configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to the microstrip patch. In this case, the microstrip structure equivalently has a structure form of a coplanar waveguide (CPW).
With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a plurality of via holes are provided around the microstrip structure and in the top layer, and the first metal layer communicates with the second metal layer through the plurality of via holes. Based on the foregoing settings, the microstrip structure can have a structure form of a grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW), so that an electromagnetic wave or energy can be more easily (better) transmitted to the microstrip structure. The microstrip structure is coupled to the ridge structure of the gap waveguide structure, so that the energy or the electromagnetic wave is transmitted into a gap waveguide, and is finally transmitted out from a ridge waveguide port, thereby further reducing losses of the energy or the electromagnetic wave.
Optionally, when the plurality of via holes are provided, a distance between the via holes may be further controlled, so that the plurality of via holes are evenly distributed around the microstrip structure.
Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the ridge structure may include a boundary ridge structure and a main ridge structure, and the boundary ridge structure is located at one end of the ridge structure.
With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the boundary ridge structure may be disposed on a side below the microstrip structure toward the bottom layer, and a slot is formed between an upper surface (a surface toward the top layer) of the boundary ridge structure and the microstrip structure. In the foregoing implementation, the slot is formed between the upper surface (the surface toward the top layer) of the boundary ridge structure and the microstrip structure, so that energy or an electromagnetic wave can be obtained by coupling the microstrip structure.
It should be noted that the boundary ridge structure is an optional structure. In other words, the antenna structure in this embodiment of this application may or may not include the boundary ridge structure. When the ridge structure includes the boundary ridge structure, in this case, dimensions of the boundary ridge structure may or may not be exactly consistent with dimensions of the main ridge structure. When the dimensions of the boundary ridge structure are consistent with the dimensions of the main ridge structure, it is equivalent to a case in which the ridge structure includes only the main ridge structure. When the ridge structure does not include the boundary ridge structure, it is equivalent that the ridge structure includes only the main ridge structure. In this case, dimensions of the ridge structure are the dimensions of the main ridge structure.
Optionally, when the microstrip structure includes the microstrip patch, a slot may be formed between the boundary ridge structure and the microstrip patch, so that energy or an electromagnetic wave can be obtained by coupling the microstrip patch of the microstrip structure.
Optionally, a dimension of the boundary ridge structure may be further set, for example, the boundary ridge structure is slightly higher than the ridge structure and/or slightly wider than the main ridge structure, so that the slot between the boundary ridge structure and the microstrip structure is narrower and/or an area that is of the boundary ridge structure and that may be used for coupling is larger, thereby improving a coupling capability and further increasing transmission efficiency of energy or an electromagnetic wave.
With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a height of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a height of the main ridge structure. In this case, the slot between the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure and the microstrip structure is narrower, thereby improving a coupling capability.
With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a width of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a width of the main ridge structure. In this case, an area of the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure is increased, and the area that can be used for coupling is increased, thereby improving a coupling capability.
According to a second aspect, an electronic device is provided. The terminal includes an antenna having the gap waveguide antenna structure in any one of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect.
Optionally, the electronic device may include a feeding unit and the antenna. The feeding unit is configured to provide an electromagnetic signal for the antenna, and the antenna may include any one of the gap waveguide antenna structures in the embodiments of this application.
Optionally, the electronic device may be any type of terminal device that can transmit energy or an electromagnetic wave by using the antenna structure, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, a vehicle-mounted terminal, or a wearable device.
The following describes technical solutions in embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings in embodiments of this application.
The top layer 10 includes a metal layer, and the metal layer acts as the ground of a PCB board. The top layer 10 further includes a PCB dielectric layer, and the metal layer is laid on an upper surface of the PCB dielectric layer.
The gap waveguide structure 20 includes a periodic pin structure 21 and a ridge structure 22, and is disposed on an upper surface of the bottom layer 40. A slot is formed between the gap waveguide structure 20 and the top layer 10. Specifically, the slot is formed between an upper surface of the periodic pin structure 21 and a lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer and between an upper surface of the ridge structure 22 and the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer. The periodic pin structure 21 includes a plurality of pins, and the plurality of pins are periodically arranged. The ridge structure 22 is located among the plurality of pins, a length direction of the ridge structure 22 is parallel to an arrangement direction of the pins, and an end of the ridge structure 22 is connected to the ridge waveguide port 23.
The ground (the metal layer) of the PCB board also acts as a top metal layer of the gap waveguide structure 20.
The microstrip structure 30 is disposed on a lower surface of the top layer 10, and specifically, disposed on the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer 12 and over the ridge structure 22, and disposed at an end of the top layer 10 away from the end of the ridge structure 22. The microstrip structure 30 includes a microstrip 32 and a microstrip patch 33, the microstrip 32 is connected to the microstrip patch 33, the microstrip patch 33 is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave, and the microstrip 32 is configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to the microstrip patch 33.
In
The top layer 10 is disposed in parallel to the bottom layer 40.
As shown in
The gap waveguide structure 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom layer 40. The slot is formed between the gap waveguide structure 20 and the top layer 10. Specifically, the slot is formed between the upper surface of the periodic pin structure 21 and the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer and between the upper surface of the ridge structure 22 and the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer.
The gap waveguide structure needs to include one top metal layer. A slot needs to exist both between the top metal layer and the upper surface of the periodic pin structure below and between the top metal layer and the upper surface of the ridge structure below, and a requirement on a width of the slot is put forward. In a conventional technology, the ground (the metal layer 11) of the PCB board also acts as the top metal layer of the gap waveguide structure 20. However, due to existence of the PCB dielectric layer 12, the width of the foregoing slot is mostly occupied by the PCB dielectric layer 12. Consequently, both the slot between the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer 12 and the upper surface of the periodic pin structure below and the slot between the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer 12 and the upper surface of the ridge structure below are relatively narrow.
The microstrip structure 30 is disposed on the lower surface of the top layer 10, and specifically, disposed on the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer 12 and over the ridge structure 22.
The top layer 10 is disposed in parallel to the bottom layer 40.
In the gap waveguide antenna structure shown in
For the foregoing problem, an embodiment of this application puts forward a new gap waveguide structure. A metal layer is laid on two sides of a top layer, so that energy losses of energy and an electromagnetic wave in a process of passing through a PCB dielectric layer are reduced. In addition, a metal layer on a lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer may act as a top metal layer of the gap waveguide structure, so that a width threshold of a slot between an upper surface of a pin and the top metal layer is increased, a width threshold of a slot between an upper surface of a ridge structure and the top metal layer is increased. In addition, in this case, the metal layer is laid on the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer, so that a component can be disposed on the metal layer on the lower surface of the PCB dielectric layer (the width threshold of the foregoing slot can allow the component to be disposed on the metal layer without affecting performance of the gap waveguide structure), and the gap waveguide antenna structure can be integrated with another component or another functional module, thereby facilitating use of the antenna structure in various practical scenarios, and expanding an application range of the antenna structure. For example, a component such as a capacitor, an inductor, or a resistor may be disposed on the metal layer (the following second metal layer). For another example, an integrated module such as a chip or an integrated circuit may be disposed on the metal layer (the following second metal layer). Details are no longer described one by one.
The top layer 50 includes a first metal layer, a dielectric layer, and a second metal layer. The first metal layer is laid on an upper surface (a first side) of the dielectric layer, and the first metal layer is laid on a lower surface of the dielectric layer. In an implementation, the first metal layer may act as the ground of a PCB.
Optionally, the foregoing dielectric layer may act as a PCB dielectric layer.
A metal layer is laid on both an upper layer and a lower layer of the PCB, so that a stopband structure of the gap waveguide structure can be ensured. In addition, a metallic ground is laid on both the upper layer and the lower layer of the PCB, so that losses of an electromagnetic wave or energy during transmission can be effectively reduced.
The gap waveguide structure 20 includes a periodic pin structure 21 and a ridge structure 22. The periodic pin structure 21 and the ridge structure 22 are disposed on a side of the bottom layer 40 close to the top layer 50. A slot is formed between the periodic pin structure 21 and the top layer 50 and between the ridge structure 22 and the top layer 50. Specifically, the slot is formed between upper surfaces of the periodic pin structure 21 and the ridge structure 22 (surfaces toward the top layer 50) and the second metal layer 53. The periodic pin structure 21 includes a plurality of pins, and the plurality of pins are periodically arranged on two sides of the ridge structure 22. That is, the plurality of pins are distributed on two sides of a length direction of the ridge structure 22, and an end of the ridge structure 22 is connected to a ridge waveguide port 23.
It is learned according to the foregoing that, in addition to the foregoing periodic pin structure 21 and ridge structure 22, the gap waveguide structure 20 further needs to include a top-layer metal structure. In addition, a gap needs to exist both between the top-layer metal structure and the periodic pin structure 21 and between the top-layer metal structure and the ridge structure 22. A size of the gap determines a stopband feature of a gap waveguide. However, a difference from those shown in
It should be understood that, because a wavelength of an electromagnetic wave in a PCB dielectric is shorter than that in the air, in practice, in the conventional technology, a maximum value of the width of the slot between the lower surface (a surface without a metallic ground) of the PCB dielectric layer and the periodic pin structure further needs to be less than a value of A-B.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, there is no limitation on a shape, a height, a width, or other dimensions of the pin. For example, the pin may be a cuboid shown in
The microstrip structure 30 is disposed on the lower surface of the dielectric layer (in other words, disposed in the second metal layer), and is parallel to the ridge structure 22. The microstrip structure 30 is disposed at an end away from an end (a side of the ridge waveguide port 23) of the ridge structure 22.
Optionally, the microstrip structure 30 includes a microstrip 32 and a microstrip patch 33, the microstrip 32 is connected to the microstrip patch 33, the microstrip patch 33 is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave, and the microstrip 32 is configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to the microstrip patch 33.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, there is also no limitation on a shape of the microstrip structure 30, as long as the microstrip patch 33 of the microstrip structure 30 can be coupled to the gap waveguide and a coupling requirement can be met.
The top layer 50 is disposed in parallel to the bottom layer 40.
It should be noted that, when the gap waveguide antenna structure in
Optionally, via holes may be further provided around the microstrip structure 30, so that losses of energy or an electromagnetic wave are further reduced.
Optionally, a plurality of via holes 31 may be provided on a periphery of a frame (a boundary) of the microstrip structure 30, and the plurality of via holes 31 can enable the first metal layer 51 of the top layer 50 to communicate with the second metal layer 53, as shown in
Optionally, when the plurality of via holes 31 are provided, a distance between the via holes 31 may be further controlled, so that the plurality of via holes 31 are evenly distributed around the microstrip structure 30.
It should be noted that the microstrip structure 30 is blocked in
Optionally, a height of a part of the ridge structure 22 may be further increased. Specifically, a height of a part of the ridge structure 22 located below the microstrip is increased, so that a slot between the microstrip structure 30 and a part of the ridge structure 22 after the architecture becomes narrow, thereby increasing a coupling capability. The part is shielded by the top layer 50 and the microstrip structure 30 in
As shown in
The second metal layer 53 may act as a top-layer metal structure of a gap waveguide structure 20.
A microstrip structure 30 is disposed on a second side of the dielectric layer in the top layer 50, and is parallel to the ridge structure 22. The microstrip structure 30 is disposed over the ridge structure 22. It may be understood that the microstrip structure 30 is disposed in the second metal layer and is separated from metal of the second metal layer.
Optionally, the microstrip structure 30 includes a microstrip 32 and a microstrip patch 33, the microstrip 32 is connected to the microstrip patch 33, the microstrip patch 33 is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave, and the microstrip 32 is configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to the microstrip patch 33.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, because the second metal layer 53 is laid on a lower surface (a second side) of the PCB dielectric layer 52, when the microstrip structure 30 is disposed, a part of a periphery of a frame of the microstrip structure 30 needs to be set as a space 34. The space 34 may be understood as that there is no metal in the part, and the PCB dielectric layer 52 is exposed. This may be implemented in some common manners of processing a PCB board. Details are no longer described herein.
As shown in
It should be noted that the microstrip structure 30 shown in
Optionally, the microstrip structure 30 may be enabled to have a structure form of a grounded coplanar waveguide. Details are described below with reference to
Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the ridge structure 22 may include a boundary ridge structure 24 and a main ridge structure 26, and the boundary ridge structure 24 is located at one end of the ridge structure. The main ridge structure 26 may be considered as a part of the ridge structure 22 except the boundary ridge structure 24. As shown in
It should be noted that the boundary ridge structure 24 is an optional structure. In other words, an antenna structure in this embodiment of this application may or may not include the boundary ridge structure 24. When the ridge structure 22 includes the boundary ridge structure 24, in this case, dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 may or may not be exactly consistent with dimensions of the main ridge structure 26. When the dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 are consistent with the dimensions of the main ridge structure 26, it is equivalent to a case in which the ridge structure 22 includes only the main ridge structure 26. When the ridge structure 22 does not include the boundary ridge structure 24, it is equivalent that the ridge structure 22 includes only the main ridge structure 26. In this case, dimensions of the ridge structure 22 are dimensions of the main ridge structure 26.
Optionally, a slot may be formed between an upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip structure 30, to obtain energy or an electromagnetic wave by coupling the microstrip structure 30. For example, the boundary ridge structure 24 may be disposed below the microstrip structure 30, and the slot is formed between the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip structure 30.
Optionally, a slot may be formed between the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip patch 33 of the microstrip structure 30, so that energy or an electromagnetic wave can be obtained by coupling the microstrip patch 33 of the microstrip structure 30.
Optionally, a dimension of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be further set, for example, the boundary ridge structure 24 is slightly higher than the ridge structure and/or slightly wider than the main ridge structure 26, so that the slot between the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip structure 30 becomes narrow and/or an area that is of the boundary ridge structure 24 and that may be used for coupling becomes large, thereby improving a coupling capability and further increasing transmission efficiency of energy or an electromagnetic wave.
It should be noted that the dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 may have various cases. For example, a width of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be consistent with that of the main ridge structure 26, but a height of the boundary ridge structure 24 is greater than that of the main ridge structure 26, so that the slot between the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip structure 30 is narrower, thereby improving a coupling capability. For another example, a height of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be consistent with that of the main ridge structure 26, but a width of the boundary ridge structure 24 is greater than that of the main ridge structure 26, so that an area that can be used for coupling and that is of the upper surface (a surface close to the top layer 50) of the boundary ridge structure 24 is larger, thereby improving a coupling capability. For another example, a height of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be further greater than that of the main ridge structure 26, and a width of the boundary ridge structure 24 is greater than that of the main ridge structure 26, so that the slot between the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 and the microstrip structure 30 is narrower and an area that can be used for coupling and that is of the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 is larger, thereby improving a coupling capability.
Optionally, the dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be alternatively set to be adjustable. In other words, the height and/or the width may be adjusted. For example, a concave structure may be disposed and buckled upside down at one end of the ridge structure 22. With reference to
From the left view of
To facilitate further understanding of the inter-layer structure relationship in this embodiment of this application, tangent plane diagrams at three locations are further provided below.
It should be noted that an example in which the microstrip structure 30 has the structure form of the GCPW and the microstrip structure 30 is located at the location shown in
As can be seen from
It can be seen from
As can be seen from
The antenna structure in this embodiment of this application may be further understood from the three tangent plane diagrams shown in
It should be noted that, in
Optionally, the ridge structure 22 may include the boundary ridge structure 24 and a main ridge structure 26, and the boundary ridge structure 24 is located at one end of the ridge structure 22. The main ridge structure 26 may be considered as a part of the ridge structure 22 except the boundary ridge structure 24.
Optionally, dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 may or may not be consistent with dimensions of the main ridge structure 26. When the dimensions are inconsistent, a height of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be greater than a height of the main ridge structure 26 and/or a width of the boundary ridge structure 24 may be greater than a width of the main ridge structure 26. It should be noted that, from the front view of
It should be further noted that, because
For a top view, due to impact of a top layer 50, another structure is blocked, only a first metal layer 51 of a top layer 50 and a via hole 31 can be shown, and another part can be represented only by a dashed line, thereby affecting a presentation effect of the structure. Therefore, the top view is omitted.
In the foregoing, it has been explained that there is no limitation on the dimension, the shape, or the like of each constituent part of the gap waveguide antenna structure in this embodiment of this application. The gap waveguide antenna structure in this embodiment of this application and a test result of a transmission effect of the gap waveguide antenna structure are described below by using a specific example.
In an example, a board thickness of a PCB is 5 mils (mil), that is, 0.125 millimeters (mm). A pin is a cuboid, and dimensions of the pin are 0.5 mm×0.5 mm×0.8 mm. In other words, the pin is a cuboid of which both a length and a width are 0.5 mm and a height is 0.8 mm. One of two planes of 0.5 mm×0.5 mm is an upper surface and the other is a lower surface. A slot is formed between the upper surface and a second metal layer 53 of the top layer 50, and the lower surface of the pin is disposed on an upper surface of the bottom layer 40. A height (a ridge height) of the main ridge structure 26 of the ridge structure 22 is 0.8 mm, a width of the main ridge structure 26 is 0.575 mm, and a length of the ridge structure 22 (a length of the boundary ridge structure 24 plus a length of the main ridge structure 26) may be set depending on an actual requirement, for example, may be 2 cm or 3.5 cm. A slot is formed between an upper surface of the ridge structure 22 and the second metal layer 53, and a lower surface of the ridge structure 22 is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom layer 40. Dimensions of the boundary ridge structure 24 are 1.5 mm×0.85 mm×0.944 mm. In other words, the length of the boundary ridge structure 24 (a dimension along a length direction of the ridge structure 22) is 1.5 mm, and is much shorter than the length of the main ridge structure 26. A width of the boundary ridge structure 24 is 0.85 mm, and is slightly greater than the width 0.575 mm of the main ridge structure 26. A height of the boundary ridge structure 24 is 0.944 mm, and is greater than the height 0.8 mm of the main ridge structure 26, so that a slot formed between an upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 and the second metal layer 53 is narrower, and a lower surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom layer 40. Dimensions of a microstrip patch 33 of a microstrip structure 30 are 1.1 mm×0.8 mm. A distance from an upper surface of the main ridge structure 26 to the patch of the microstrip structure 30 is 0.218 mm. A distance from the upper surface of the boundary ridge structure 24 to the microstrip structure 30 is 56 μm.
An energy loss of the gap waveguide antenna structure in the foregoing example is tested, so that test results shown in
It can be seen from both
In this embodiment of this application, metal layers are mainly both laid on two sides of a dielectric layer, thereby effectively reducing losses of energy and an electromagnetic wave during transmission, specifically, reducing energy losses of the energy and the electromagnetic wave in a process of passing through the dielectric layer. In addition, in this case, there may be plenty of space, so that a component is disposed on the metal layer (to be specific, the foregoing second metal layer) on a lower surface (a second side of the dielectric layer) of the dielectric, so that the gap waveguide antenna structure can be integrated with another component or another functional module, thereby facilitating use of the antenna structure in various practical scenarios, and expanding an application range of the antenna structure. In addition, a microstrip structure is further transformed into a microstrip structure having a structure form of a GCPW, so that an electromagnetic wave or energy can be more easily (better) transmitted to the microstrip structure 30, thereby further reducing losses of energy or an electromagnetic wave. In addition, a boundary ridge structure slightly higher than a ridge structure and/or slightly wider than the ridge structure is further disposed, so that a slot between the boundary ridge structure and the second metal layer becomes narrow and/or an area that may be used for coupling becomes large, thereby improving a coupling capability and further increasing transmission efficiency of energy or an electromagnetic wave.
Optionally, an embodiment of this application further provides an electronic device. The electronic device has the gap waveguide antenna structure in any one of the foregoing embodiments of this application.
Optionally, the electronic device may include a feeding unit and an antenna. The feeding unit is configured to provide an electromagnetic signal for the antenna, and the antenna may include any one of the gap waveguide antenna structures in the embodiments of this application.
Optionally, the electronic device may be any type of terminal device that can transmit energy or an electromagnetic wave by using the antenna structure, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, a vehicle-mounted terminal, or a wearable device.
The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A gap waveguide antenna structure, comprising:
- a top layer;
- a gap waveguide structure;
- a microstrip structure; and
- a bottom layer,
- wherein:
- the top layer is parallel to the bottom layer;
- the top layer comprises a first metal layer, a dielectric layer, and a second metal layer, wherein the first metal layer is laid on a first side of the dielectric layer, and the second metal layer is laid on a second side of the dielectric layer;
- the gap waveguide structure comprises a periodic pin structure and a ridge structure, wherein the periodic pin structure and the ridge structure are disposed on a side of the bottom layer close to the top layer, a slot is formed between the periodic pin structure and the second metal layer, and a slot is formed between the ridge structure and the second metal layer;
- the periodic pin structure comprises a plurality of pins, and the plurality of pins are periodically arranged on two sides of the ridge structure;
- the microstrip structure is disposed in the second metal layer, and the microstrip structure is parallel to the ridge structure; and
- a frame of the microstrip structure is separated from metal of the second metal layer by leaving a space.
2. The antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of via holes are provided around the microstrip structure and in the top layer, and the first metal layer communicates with the second metal layer through the plurality of via holes.
3. The antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the ridge structure comprises a boundary ridge structure and a main ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is located at one end of the ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is disposed on a side below the microstrip structure toward the bottom layer, and a slot is formed between a surface of the boundary ridge structure toward the top layer and the microstrip structure.
4. The antenna structure according to claim 2, wherein the ridge structure comprises a boundary ridge structure and a main ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is located at one end of the ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is disposed on a side below the microstrip structure toward the bottom layer, and a slot is formed between a surface of the boundary ridge structure toward the top layer and the microstrip structure.
5. The antenna structure according to claim 3, wherein a height of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a height of the main ridge structure.
6. The antenna structure according to claim 3, wherein a width of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a width of the main ridge structure.
7. The antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
8. The antenna structure according to claim 2, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
9. The antenna structure according to claim 3, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
10. The antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pins are cuboids or cylinders.
11. A radar, comprising:
- a feeding structure; and
- an antenna, wherein the feeding structure is configured to provide an electromagnetic signal for the antenna, wherein the antenna comprises an antenna structure, wherein the antenna structure comprises a top layer, a gap waveguide structure, a microstrip structure, and a bottom layer,
- wherein:
- the top layer is parallel to the bottom layer;
- the top layer comprises a first metal layer, a dielectric layer, and a second metal layer, the first metal layer is laid on a first side of the dielectric layer, and the second metal layer is laid on a second side of the dielectric layer;
- the gap waveguide structure comprises a periodic pin structure and a ridge structure, the periodic pin structure and the ridge structure are disposed on a side of the bottom layer close to the top layer, a slot is formed between the periodic pin structure and the second metal layer, and a slot is formed between the ridge structure and the second metal layer;
- the periodic pin structure comprises a plurality of pins, and the plurality of pins are periodically arranged on two sides of the ridge structure;
- the microstrip structure is disposed in the second metal layer, and the microstrip structure is parallel to the ridge structure; and
- a frame of the microstrip structure is separated from metal of the second metal layer by leaving a space.
12. The radar according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of via holes are provided around the microstrip structure and in the top layer, and the first metal layer communicates with the second metal layer through the plurality of via holes.
13. The radar according to claim 11, wherein the ridge structure comprises a boundary ridge structure and a main ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is located at one end of the ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is disposed on a side below the microstrip structure toward the bottom layer, and a slot is formed between a surface of the boundary ridge structure toward the top layer and the microstrip structure.
14. The radar according to claim 12, wherein the ridge structure comprises a boundary ridge structure and a main ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is located at one end of the ridge structure, the boundary ridge structure is disposed on a side below the microstrip structure toward the bottom layer, and a slot is formed between a surface of the boundary ridge structure toward the top layer and the microstrip structure.
15. The radar according to claim 13, wherein a height of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a height of the main ridge structure.
16. The radar according to claim 13, wherein a width of the boundary ridge structure is greater than a width of the main ridge structure.
17. The radar according to claim 11, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
18. The radar according to claim 12, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
19. The radar according to claim 13, wherein the microstrip structure comprises a microstrip and a microstrip patch, and the microstrip patch is configured to radiate energy or an electromagnetic wave.
20. The radar according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of pins are cuboids or cylinders.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 26, 2023
Publication Date: Jun 1, 2023
Inventors: Zhidong Zhao (Shenzhen), Qiang Li (Beijing), Dapeng Lao (Beijing), Yong Yang (Beijing)
Application Number: 18/160,181